Cole Roederer scored the winning run in Game 2 of the Midwest League finals. (Photo by Rebecca Snyder)

It took longer than they wanted, but the South Bend Cubs beat the Clinton LumberKings 3-2 in 10 innings Thursday to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Midwest League Championship Series.

The Cubs were one out away from victory when the LumberKings tied the score 2-2 on an RBI single by Peyton Burdick. After South Bend didn’t score in the bottom of the 9th, the game entered extra innings — and a rain delay that lasted an hour and 38 minutes.

The Cubs won in the bottom of the 10th when Peyton Culbertson uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Cole Roederer to score.

South Bend scored first when Nelson Maldonado singled home two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning. Clinton pulled within a run when Bubba Hollins doubled home Evan Edwards in the top of the 3rd.

The LumberKings squandered bases-loaded opportunities to score more runs in the 5th and 6th innings.

South Bend’s starting pitcher, Faustino Carrera, allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five batters in five innings. Clinton starting pitcher Jake Walters allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out six batters in six innings.

Game 3 will be played in Clinton on Saturday. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. Scheduled starting pitchers are LumberKings RHP Josh Roberson and Cubs RHP Riley Thompson.

Faustino Carrera was the starting pitcher for the South Bend Cubs in Game 2 of the Midwest League Championship Series. (Photo by Rebecca Snyder)

Clayton Daniel lays down a sacrifice bunt to drive in an insurance run in the South Bend Cubs’ Game 1 win Wednesday. (Photo by Clinton Cole)

The South Bend Cubs beat the Clinton LumberKings 3-1 in Game 1 of the Midwest League Championship Series.

Clinton scored first, plating its lone run on an RBI double by Jose Devers in the top of the 1st inning. South Bend tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd when Jake Slaughter scored on a force play. Nelson Maldonado homered to make it a 2-1 lead for the Cubs in the 7th, then scored an insurance run on Clayton Daniel’s sacrifice bunt in the 8th.

Clinton’s Evan Edwards was the only player with two hits in the game.

LumberKings starting pitcher Remey Reed took the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) and three hits in seven innings. He struck out four and walked none.

Zach Mort got the win in relief for the Cubs. He scattered one hit and two walks while striking out four in three innings.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series will be played Thursday at South Bend’s Four Winds Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST. The pitching matchup will be LumberKings RHP Jake Walters vs. Cubs LHP Faustino Carrera.

Zach Mort was the winning pitcher in South Bend’s 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the MWL finals. (Photo by Rikk Carlson)

Rehabbing major-league pitcher Kendall Graveman will start Game 1 of the Midwest League Championship Series for the South Bend Cubs. He will face off against fellow righthander Remey Reed, a Miami Marlins prospect who posted a sub-3.00 ERA in 14 regular-season starts this year.

Graveman previously pitched in the Midwest League, for the Lansing Lugnuts in 2013 and 2014. In 2013 — his first season as a pro — he went 1-3 with a 4.31 ERA, 25 strikeouts and 13 walks in 39.2 innings/10 starts for the Lugnuts. He returned to Lansing for the start of the 2014 season, going 2-0 with a 0.34 ERA, 25 strikeouts and six walks in 26.1 innings/four starts in the Midwest League. The 2014 season was a big one for Graveman, as he made his way through the Toronto Blue Jays farm system before ending the season pitching at the major-league level. He took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the Beloit Snappers that year.

Graveman underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2018 before becoming a free agent after the season. The Chicago Cubs signed him in December. This will be his third start since he began pitching in games again; he was limited to three innings in both of his previous outings.

Reed began his 2019 season in the New York-Penn League, where he went 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA, 33 strikeouts and four walks in 26 innings/five starts for the Batavia Muckdogs. He finished the regular season with the LumberKings, going 4-3 with a 3.28 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 10 walks in 49.1 innings/nine starts.

The Clinton LumberKings celebrate after winning the Western Division championship Monday. (Photo courtesy of the Clinton LumberKings)

The Clinton LumberKings partied like it was 2016 on Monday. By this time next week, they hope to party like it’s 1991.

Just as they did in 2016, the LumberKings beat the Cedar Rapids Kernels in Game 3 of the Western Division finals to advance to the Midwest League Championship Series. That was the last time Clinton reached the league finals, a series the team hasn’t won since 1991. (That’s the longest championship drought in the MWL.)

The LumberKings got off to an early 3-0 lead by plating three runs in the top of the 1st inning. They doubled their run output by the end of the game, winning 6-2.

Kameron Misner scored three of Clinton’s runs, despite not reaching base on a hit. Bubba Hollins had two hits and two RBI. Will Banfield and Evan Edwards each had two hits and one RBI. LumberKings leadoff man Christopher Torres had two hits, two walks and a stolen base.

Wander Javier had three hits for the Kernels. Gabe Snyder and Tyler Webb each drove in a Cedar Rapids run.

The LumberKings will face the Eastern Division champion South Bend Cubs in the MWL finals, beginning Wednesday at Four Winds Field. South Bend will host the first two games before the best-of-five series shifts to Clinton for the rest.

The Chicago Cubs reportedly will promote top prospect Nico Hoerner from Double-A to play shortstop at the major-league level.

Hoerner — the team’s top draft pick in 2018 — is needed by the big-league club because of several injuries: Javier Baez’s fractured left thumb, Addison Russell getting hitting in the head by a pitch, and Triple-A shortstop Dixon Machado’s injured hamstring.

Hoerner himself has missed significant playing time due to injuries suffered during his two seasons as a pro. His stint with the South Bend Cubs last year was cut short after he suffered a ligament injury in his left elbow when diving for a ball. He ended up playing only four games in the Midwest League.

He played in Double-A this year after missing part of the early season due to a fractured left wrist. He batted .284 with 22 extra-base hits, 22 runs batted in, and eight stolen bases in 70 games with the Tennessee Smokies.

When he makes his MLB debut, Hoerner will be the first player from the 2018 draft to reach that level.

Nico Hoerner played four games with the South Bend Cubs before an injury prematurely ended his Midwest League tenure. (Photo by Rikk Carlson)